At present, protective coverings for the inner and/or outersoles of footwear have been attached to their respective inner and outersoles after the footwear had been manufactured at the factory, or they have been attached at the point of sale in the retail store. This procedure is labor intensive and costly for the manufacturer or retailer.
Since the protective covering is not applied until after the footwear is manufactured, the outersole is not protected during various chemical treatment steps, such as the applying of dye, water repellent, or conditioners to the shoe upper. Also, the protective covering does not provide for printed matter or advertising on the covering surface.